I know you have a little life in you yet
by WonderTwinC
Summary: She doesn't feel much of anything anymore. Post-Finale. Oneshot. Castle&Beckett.


_So this is my first time ever attempting something like this and I hope that it goes off. There are probably a lot of errors but... just ignore that. Okay? Thanks to RC for all of the help with a certain aspect of this that I could not peg down (and I still think I failed). Also this is for a special someone, who will know who they are, because I hope this makes your day._

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><p><em>I know you have a little life in you yet<em>

She doesn't feel much of anything anymore.

Kate spent three weeks in the hospital after the shooting that left her fighting for her life in the ICU. During those hellish weeks she managed to put on a brave face for her father and her team and anyone else who stopped by to visit. Castle was positive that she would've signed herself out AMA if she had been forced to stay any longer, but after she was discharged things slowly changed.

She was nowhere near healed enough to be on her own, because there were still some things she simply could not do yet, and so he did the only logical thing he could think of at the time. He brought her to his apartment and hired a private duty nurse to provide care to the wounded Detective for as long as she needed it. Castle expected Kate to fight with him about it when she was stronger, but he had been proven wrong. She has been withdrawing more and more ever since her discharge. Castle knew when she was thinking about Montgomery or her mother – this soul wrenching anguish would appear in her green eyes and the sadness emanating from her was almost tangible.

Worse still, though, was when she would get caught up in brooding about her own injuries. The tangible sadness would transform itself into depression that was never quite self-pity but something so dangerous all the same.

There is only a week left in her leave. Monday is her reevaluation for the NYPD.

He has tried to comfort her. He has tried to start fights with her. He has pulled her close and pushed her away and nothing gets a response. A part of her died in that cemetery and he has tried everything to bring her back.

Well, almost everything.

She is standing in the kitchen when he spots her from the stairs and even from this distance he can see her fingers dancing along her newest battle wound. Castle has had plenty of dumb ideas before, but he's pretty sure that this is the one that might end up getting him killed.

_Castle, if it were me lying there would you just walk away?_

His steps are sure as he descends the stairs toward his goal. She half turns to glance at him and he isn't even surprised when she looks away after a moment as though she has no interest in his presence. It frustrates him even more to see her dismiss him without even a proper acknowledgement. Kate hasn't responded to him at all lately and he can't take that anymore.

Tonight she will respond to him, one way or another. All Castle knows is that he is not going to take no for an answer any longer.

He invades her space without regret, his right hand encircling her wrist in a tight hold while his other hand buries itself in her cherry scented hair. A startled look darts across her face and he feels some satisfaction as he leans down and captures her lips in a hard kiss. She doesn't fight back immediately and he keeps crowding her. He kisses her harder and pushes and pulls until there is no distance between them or the kitchen counter. There is no space and he presses against her until it almost hurts.

He expects her to shove him away at any moment. Castle is waiting for Kate to get angry and push him out of her space so he is entirely surprised when her fingers twist themselves into his button up shirt and force him closer instead. He feels, more than hears, her moan into the kiss and he bites down on her bottom lip as his head spins. The hand he has in her hair tightens marginally and he pulls back with some care to nip a trail from her jaw to behind her ear.

Her breath is hot against his feverish skin and it speaks of life.

Castle releases his hold on her wrist at about the same time he feels her fingers slip under his shirt to press against bare skin. Her touch is the sweetest brand of torture he has ever endured. He hears himself groan, but he is not entirely aware of much else except her burning touch against his stomach and her teeth against his jaw and it's his undoing.

He _needs_ to touch her. Anywhere. _Everywhere_. His hands are suddenly itching, _burning, _to be on her skin. Lifting her onto the counter takes less effort than he would imagine and she wraps her legs around his waist as he tugs her shirt off, leaving it to fall to the floor with abandon. His hands caress her skin and she looks wild above him and it's intoxicating. The next few moments are a blur as he presses his hands against her back and his lips against her stomach. She arches above him and her fingers dig into his shoulders but the pain is grounding.

Castle straightens as he brings his lips from the flat plane of her stomach to her neck, nipping gently at the skin he finds there. He feels her fingers playing with the sparse hair at the nape of his neck and for the first time he smiles into the kiss he places just below her jaw. His movements aren't as frantic as before when he tugs on the legs of her sweats, urging her to raise up at the same time. The pants come away easily and he tosses them onto the floor to join her discarded shirt right about the same time that her nimble fingers start attacking the buttons of his own.

His eyes catch hers for a moment and the emotion he sees reflected back at him spurs him into further action. This isn't about him. It isn't even about them. It's about _her_. Kate's fingers feel like fire against his chest as she reaches for his belt and he steps back to help. One hand reaches for his wallet while the other hand fumbles with hers to unfasten the buckle that seems to be the only real thing getting in their way. His pants, as well as his boxers, drop right about the time he pulls his wallet out and he keeps his left hand on one of her knees until he finds what he is looking for.

With the condom safe at hand, Castle drops his wallet onto the counter and steps back into the space between her thighs. Kate, his tigress, snatches the condom from his hand with a somewhat devilish look dancing in her eyes. It warms his heart and all he can do is watch as she tears the package with her teeth in a move that leaves him breathless. His heart stutters back into rhythm when she raises an eyebrow and holds out the opened wrapper innocently.

He snatches the small pack with his teeth, his hands all too busy with helping the beautiful woman above him shimmy out of her underwear. He is surrounded by the smell of cherries and a scent that is just _Kate_ and it makes his head swim while he rolls on the condom. His hands move to the back of her knees and he pulls her body toward his until she is seated on the very edge of the counter and there was no longer any space between them.

The urgency bleeds back into his movements when he grips her thighs, pressing inside her and beginning to thrust slowly. He finds their rhythm and she rocks against him as her own urgency begins to build. When she arches her back he lifts his head and just stares at the woman above him. She looks gorgeous clad in nothing but her bra and he nips at her breasts as he shifts beneath her to find a better angle.

Kate slams one hand down on the countertop, his name escaping from her lips like a swear while her other hand tangles in his hair to hold him in place. It doesn't take long for either of them to reach their limit. He's been waiting for this moment since the first time they met and she has been ready for this since that night in LA. He reaches between them and the moment his thumb presses against her clit she comes undone in his arms and it takes only a few more thrusts until he has shattered into a million pieces right there with her.

Castle loses track of time while he stands there trying to catch his breath but eventually it all catches back up to him when Kate pushes at his chest.

"Move, Castle."

He looks up at the sharp tone of voice and when he sees that annoyed look on her face it takes all of his willpower not to kiss her again. Instead, he does away with the condom and pulls up his pants, boxers included, before handing over her discarded garments. She is in the process of slipping her shirt back on when he finally speaks for the first time.

"I meant what I said, Kate."

Their eyes meet when she looks up at him and a faint smile makes its way onto her face. He doesn't have to say what he means because she gets it. She isn't healed or fixed or whole, but she is _Detective Kate Beckett_ and he smiles back because she is finally standing there with him again.

Rick Castle is a man of many words and he definitely knows how to use them. "So should we do this again sometime?"

His laughter rings out loud and clear when she chucks his wallet at him.


End file.
